


Octoleet

by AAAAAGGGHH_IM_TIRED



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, afro is tired, and by that i mean absolutely brutal, hachi is good at hugs, pony is paranoid, the hachi/nana can be platonic or romantic, the octarian life was rough, the octos have ptsd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27782677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAAAAGGGHH_IM_TIRED/pseuds/AAAAAGGGHH_IM_TIRED
Summary: Nana's having nightmares of her life back in the Octarian Army.Good thing Hachi's there to comfort her.
Relationships: Hachi/Nana
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Octoleet

Nana didn’t even remember the full dream.

There were flashes of red, echoing laughter, and the oh-to familiar sound of screaming Octolings. She even smelled her own burning flesh.

Nana could easily put together the pieces of the puzzle. It was yet another nightmare of her horrid life in the Octarian Forces. Her heart raced, her head pounded, beads of sweat rolled down her face and soaked her clothes. 

This time of year was always the worst. With the tournaments every other week and the stress of always training with her team, they were always enough to send her mind spiraling into that dark place. 

She held a hand to her mouth, attempting to muffle the heavy sobs escaping. She wanted to close her eyes and fall right back to sleep, but the blurred images of the dream were etched into her eyelids. There was no escape from them. Her shoulders shook with every breath, her lungs begged for air, her eyes stung with the tears.

“Nana?” A soft voice made the Octoling’s head dart up. Hachi was standing in her doorway. He had heavy bags under his eyes and yawned a lot. No doubt he was having trouble sleeping too. “I heard you crying-” He paused to yawn. “Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine,” Nana lied, trying to rub the wetness from her nose and eyes away. “Just… just go b-back to b-bed, Hachi.”

“No,” He stated firmly, walking over to the side of her bed. “You’re not okay.” He wrapped Nana into a hug. “Was it the nightmares again?”

Nana hesitated before returning the hug and nodding into the shoulder of his plain red t-shirt. 

“Do you... wanna talk about it?”

Nana violently shook her head. It was painful enough to remember, speaking about it just seemed unbearable. “How can I help?” Hachi asked, furrowing his magenta eyebrows. He pulled away from the hug so he could look her in the eyes. He rubbed comforting circles on her back. “Nana, please I want to help.” 

Nana sniffed, her hands still tightly entangled in Hachi’s shirt. “S-stay-” She choked out with a sob. “St-stay with m-me.”

Hachi nodded, letting Nana pull him down onto the mattress. The smaller Octo pulled herself closer to the other, her small body still shaking with sobs. Hachi slid the comforter over them, letting the heavy blanket envelope them in warmth. Hachi rested his head atop of Nana’s, one hand holding her shoulders, the other rubbing her back. Nana still had an iron grip on the back of Hachi’s t-shirt, her face buried in his chest. Hachi noticed that his shirt was soaked, but he didn’t care. Nana needed him, and he was there. That was all that mattered.

After what seemed like years, Nana had finally slowed her sobs, replaced with jagged breathing and hiccups. Hachi lightly kissed the top of her head.

And then she was asleep, Hachi soon drifting off as well.

\--

Blood.

Flesh.

Screams.

All so vivid. 

There were the Commanders, standing on a stage above the whole Military. The kelp in their tentacles slowly waved, informing everyone of their high status. Their eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, the red light bearing into the crowd. They were silent, but their emotionless and toothy smiles sent chills up the soldier’s spines.

The Octoling soldiers were silent as the Commanders dragged one of their own onto the platform. She was kicking and lashing against the Commander’s holds, but to no avail. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, her violet eyes wide and defiant. The crowd watched her struggle, all of them at a loss for words.

“No!” An Octoling in the crowd cried out as the Commanders forced the soldier onto their knees. She was standing in a small group, each of the seven Octolings on the verge of a breakdown. A male Octo held her tight, tears streaming out of his eyes.

“Maybe this,” A Commander shouted, their words loud and clear. “Will teach you to behave.” The Commander took a long stick from a burning fire, the end of it was a molten red stamp of the Octarian Crest. Another Commander seized the girl’s wrist, holding her arm in front of her for the lead Commander.

A morbid smile crossed the lead Commander’s face. “Anything you would like to say, Octoling 80-892?”

The Octoling glared at the Commander, her teeth bared. “Die.” She spat on the Commander’s shades.

The Commander laughed, a shrill and maniacal sound. With one long finger, they wiped the saliva from their glasses, flicking it to the ground. They raised the molten stamp, hovering just above her forearm. Octoling 80-892’s defiant gaze never wavered.

The Commander pressed the burning stamp into her flesh. The Octoling cried out in pain, forcing her eyes shut. She tried to pull away, but the other two Commanders held her tightly in her place. Octoling 80-892 screamed, her voice raw and tortured. 

Soon enough Octoling 80-892 screams melted into something else… Nana’s screams.

Hachi shook her awake, praying that her screams didn’t wake Afro and Pony. It was unlikely though, Afro and Pony could sleep through an earthquake.

Nana’s eyes shot wide open, her pupils so big you could only see a small ring of her magenta eyes. She was breathing heavily, her clothing stuck to her thin frame with sweat, her face red and puffy from crying. 

“Shh, shh, you’re safe,” Hachi whispered, holding her tightly. “It was just a dream, Nans, you’re okay. You’re safe.”

His words did little to comfort her. Nana shook from the memories of her former life in the Octarian Forces. Hachi didn’t have to ask for details, she always had nightmares this time of year. The smaller Octo clutched Hachi as if he was the only thing keeping her tethered to the earth. Her grip made it difficult for him to breathe, but he couldn’t pull away, not when she needed him the most. 

Nana mumbled something into his chest. 

“What was that, Nans?”

She looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. “Circ-circle-” She choked out.

Hachi made a small ‘o’ with his mouth. That memory was one of his foggier ones, but Circle’s screams were forever etched into his memory. She was always the most defiant in their battalion. On multiple occasions she talked back to their Commander, lashed out, even sniped a few people every now and then. She was also the most disciplined. She was branded, slapped, starved, but she was never broken. The only reason she didn’t get a death penalty was her top of the line sniping skills.

When Circle escaped the Octolands with Hachi and company, she had forgotten her old name as Octoling 80-892 and had renamed herself Circle. She found home with Team Zip as a Bamboozler MK-II main alongside Octoling 80-893, or as they all know her now, Beret. Beret wrote sonnets and poems about the oppression and struggles of being a soldier in the Octarian Army, she shared them with the world, winning medals and prizes for her moving way with words. Headlamp and Lifevest found home working for the shady Mr. Grizz at GrizzCo with Flippers and Sensei. 

And the remaining four banded together to make one of the most legendary and powerful teams in all of Inkopolis, the first ever all-Octoling team.

The eight of them still remembered their past, but all silently vowed to never speak of it again. But that didn’t stop the nightmares and the gruesome memories from returning at random times.

“Hey, Circle’s just fine,” Hachi scooted down so he was nose-to-nose with Nana. “She’s probably still sleeping in her bed in the Team Zip apartment. If you want, we can go see her tomorrow. Would you like that?”

Nana loudly sniffed and nodded. Hachi wiped the tears away from her cheeks. “Okay,” He said softly. “We’ll go to the plaza tomorrow morning and see Circle and Beret. Maybe we could stop by GrizzCo and see Headlamp and Lifevest too.”

“I-I’d l-like th-that,” Nana stammered, followed by a hiccup.

“Okay,” Hachi responded, his lips brushing her nose. “Now go back to bed, the sooner you fall asleep, the sooner morning will come.”

~~

There were no more nightmares.

Nana woke up to the sun on her face and Hachi still snuggled up to her. Her eyes felt crusty from tears and her throat felt raw from sobbing. The night was hazy, Nana only remembering bits and pieces.

Hachi yawned so wide Nana could see the dangly thing in the back of his throat. He stretched his arms, Nana expertly dodging around his extending fist to avoid getting whacked. Hachi yawned again, smacking his lips a couple times before slowly opening his magenta eyes. “Good morning,” He greeted, his voice slightly groggy.

“Hi,” Nana greeted with a giggle. 

“Did’ya sleep okay?” He muttered sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Nana shrugged, pulling the blankets up to her chin. “Nightmares, but it was okay when you got here.”

Hachi smiled. “I’m glad.” He paused. “Not about the nightmares but that I made you feel better.”

“AFRO HACHI’S BEEN SQUIDNAPPED!” Pony’s shrill voice shattered the peacefulness of the morning.

“Eh?” Afro’s tired response came. 

“HE’S NOT IN HIS BED.”

Nana and Hachi sighed simultaneously. This happened every time Hachi stayed the night in Nana’s room. Pony got paranoid, Afro was too tired to care, and Hachi and Nana’s quiet morning together was abruptly stopped. “He’s in here, Pony!” Nana called.

Pony barged into the room, the door flying open with a loud BANG. She wore a baggy t-shirt with a Krak-On logo over a pair of track shorts, with argyle knee-high socks. Her tentacles were pulled up into her signature ponytail like always. “Oh thank cod,” She sighed. “I thought you were squidnapped!” Pony laughed and turned on her heel, grabbing Afro’s mug of coffee and taking a long sip before pressing it back into the dark-toned Octoling’s hands. Afro shrugged, downing the rest of the mug before going to pour him another. 

Nana rolled her eyes good-naturedly before sitting up, letting the blankets fall to her lap. “Come on,” She tugged on Hachi’s hand. “We have friends to see.”

Hachi grinned, letting the girl pull him to his feet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this you beautiful people!! :DD
> 
> This is my first real work and I'm so happy I'm sharing it with you guys!! 
> 
> Comments and kudos always keep me motivated!
> 
> (should I write another chapter where Hachi and Nana go meet the other Octos in the plaza??)


End file.
